By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Saturday’s football game on Kirkland Field at Shuford Stadium turned out to be a different sort of scrap than Catawba had planned for.

The Indians expected to throw it around, to once again ride the aerial circus and the high-wire act that Preston Brown and Bo Pryor have become.

Instead, the Indians wound up ramming the ball down the throats of the visiting Emory & Henry Wasps. Catawba’s punishing, old-school running assault accounted for 244 rushing yards and was the dominant factor in a resounding 30-13 win. The Indians thoroughly dominated the second half.

“Emory & Henry is tough against the run, has a really good linebacker (Kaleb Lundy), and we came in thinking we’d probably have to throw it,” Catawba head coach Tyler Haines said. “Their defense held up for a long time, but those guys were on the field most of the second half and they got tired. And our offensive line did a great job.”

It was more than a win for the Indians, it was a South Atlantic Conference win, and Catawba hadn’t enjoyed one of those since the Indians beat Tusculum on Oct. 30, 2021. The Indians went more than 700 days between SAC victories.

Catawba lost its last two SAC games in 2021, all nine in 2022 and the first two this season. That’s 13 in a row, but that ugly stretch is now in the rear-view mirror.

Saturday’s result was an upset, but not a shock. Catawba was an underdog by about a touchdown on its home field.

“Huge win for us, proud of the guys,” Haines said. “We showed flashes in the Mars Hill game and again in the Tusculum game, and we put more things together today. This was our most complete game to date. We’re still not there yet, but we’re getting closer to where we want to be.”

Catawba (3-2, 1-2) was much better in the first half than it was a week earlier in the turnover festival at Tusculum.

A 44-yard field goal was all Catawba’s offense had to show for its first-half efforts, but the defense stood tall, and the Indians, who weren’t turning it over, were still in good shape, down 10-3 at the break.

Bryson Sims kicked his second and third field goals of the night to lift the Indians within 10-9 midway through the second half.

A pivotal play for the Indians came late in the third quarter. Catawba faced second-and-11 at the Emory & Henry 36. Based on down and distance, that’s almost a sure pass play for the Indians, but they ran it, and Malcolm Wilson the former North Rowan star who transferred from Barton to Catawba prior to this school year, came churning through a big gap.

“We had them blocked up, hat on hat, and I saw a crease,” Wilson said.

Wilson is known more for tenacity than sheer speed, but no one caught him and he had his first Catawba touchdown.

Wilson had played in 18 games at Barton as the primary backup behind superstar running back Jordan Terrell. He had scored three touchdowns during his time with Chip Hester’s Bulldogs, but his first one wearing the red and blue of his hometown team was a thill.

It also was a thrill for his teammates, as they led the game for the first time. Sims’ PAT made Catawba’s lead 16-10.

From that point forward, it was all Catawba. The defense got stop after stop — Emory & Henry finished the game 3-for-12 on third-down conversions. Emory & Henry’s only score of the second half came on a 50-yard field goal.

Wilson (7 carries, 58 yards) lost a fumble as he was going to the ground, but that would be Catawba’s only turnover. LJ Turner, Wilson and Marquece Williams ran the ball with increasing effectiveness as the night wore on and the Wasps (2-3, 0-3) wore down. Turner carried 16 times for 93 yards and bullied the ball into the end zone twice.

Brown didn’t amass the huge passing numbers fans have grown accustomed to, but his nine completions went for 178 yards. He didn’t throw an interception.

“Preston had a solid game, didn’t make any big mistakes,” Haines said. “And even with no designed runs, he had a good rushing game (50 yards).”

Tight end Kobe Christian had two important catches that totaled 110 yards. Both were short passes that Christian turned into 55-yard gallops. The first one led to Catawba’s first-half field goal. The encore preceded a 9-yard TD run by Turner.

“Kobe is not a burner, but he’s a big target with good hands,” Haines said. “He delivered some great plays.”

Defensively, Catawba held the Wasps to 78 passing yards and 139 rushing yards. Denoa Wardlow and Evan Simons made seven tackles each.

Jakarri Martin was credited with four pass breakups. Josh Pixley picked off a pass. Trey Womack forced a fumble, while Anton Popov had a fumble recovery.

“It was great atmosphere to play in,” Haines said. “Now we’ve got to ride this wave and carry it over to next Saturday against Wingate.”

Wingate will visit at 6 p.m.

Catawba has been watching Wingate film for weeks, as Mars Hill, Tusculum and Emory & Henry all played Wingate the week before they took on Catawba.